Friday, March 6, 2020

(193) Backing of the Pastor Crucial to the Men's Conference

AMDG

Dear faithful Pastor:

            First of all, thank you so much for giving your life to the God, His Church, and to us.  Your work is so important and crucial in being another Christ in bringing us Mass, the sacraments, counseling us, teaching us, overseeing parish groups, and managing the parish, an enterprise just as challenging as running a business or other organization.  Your duties in running one or two or even three parishes often with a school and other services can be overwhelming while keeping up with the indispensable Liturgy of the Hours.  Through your most noble vocation over your career you will have brought the Lord’s mercy to hundreds if not thousands of souls and help them along the narrow and often difficult road to salvation.  May God reward you richly and use all of the trials, crosses, and frustrations of your crucial job to make you a saint.  Again my deepest gratitude.

            May I ask your help in promoting this year’s Men’s Conference mainly through at least one parish representative and other laymen.  A deacon or associate pastor can also help.  We realize that you cannot do it alone with all of your many responsibilities.  Please permit me to impose upon your time with the following write-up of mine on the importance of the Steubenville Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal (March 7, 9am – 4 pm in the Basilica in Marietta) and the resources for promoting it.  By now you should have received at least one or more posters and packets of brochures for each one of your parishes.  If not please contact Roger Huck by e-mail at huck4816@roadrunner.com or call him at home 740-984-2234 or his cell at 740-336-9128.

Please excuse the length.  I wanted to be complete.  To make it an easier read, I have many subtitles. Please give it at least a good skim, reading only what you consider useful.
 
The following two bulletin blurbs may be helpful (more are attached) as a starting point according to your space limitations:

1.      Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal Saturday, March 7 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta.  In the first talk Dr. Hahn will draw upon his 1986 conversion experience to help us to be more effective in the New Evangelization, which applies to all of us.  Hopefully the men will leave with a sense of mission to show fallen away Catholics within their extended families and circle of friends what they are missing by drifting away.  Every Catholic has a part, small or large, in bringing non-Catholics and unchurched friends to the Faith.  Critical is selling them on the faith........Why be Catholic despite the scandal we have suffered through? 

2.      Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal Saturday, March 7 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta.  In the second talk Dr. Hahn will draw upon his experience as the father of six, including two in the seminary.  Scott Hahn can give us some great tips on how to make your home a domestic church as advocated by St. Pope John Paul II.  Certainly Scott Hahn has had his struggles as we all do in forming our families and keeping our marriages healthy.  He has given considerable thought to the Domestic Church in writing his book, "The First Society", which today is in a grave crisis. 

ACTIVE BACKING OF THE PASTOR CRUCIAL FOR THE MEN’S CONFERENCE

          It is the role of the father to assume spiritual leadership in the family, but in many if not most cases, the mother assumes that role.  As Danny Abramowicz, 2012 Conference speaker and former All-Pro wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints, says, “The men have dropped the ball”.  If the father takes the spiritual lead instead of the mother, the probability that the children will remain faithful to the Church in later life doubles or triples.  The Church in American may be losing a generation of youth.  The men must become the pillars of the parish, not only the women.  The men must step up.  Thus it is crucial to reach the men and the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal plays an important part because the enthusiasm generated is contagious as the men witness to each other.  Setting the men on fire means stronger families which in turn means the renewal of the parish.  Taking a day off for the Men’s Conference would be a great Lenten sacrifice.
  
          The Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal will be held on Saturday March 7 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta.  The theme of the Conference is The Challenge of Being Catholic”.  The patron of the Conference is St. Joseph, a model of a true man of God, whose intercession we count upon for its success.

The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is the spiritual development of the men of our diocese. That includes helping the men to take the right path before having to face the four last things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell.  Having spiritually strong men of faith and character translates into more solid families, more dynamic parishes, and better communities. This is crucial to the Church and particularly our diocese, now and in the future. It is also critical for nurturing vocations.
  
The Conference will open with both talks of our main speaker, Dr. Scott Hahn since he will be on his way to Rome for a lecture series at the Angelicum Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.  In his first talk, Scott will draw on Church's teaching and his own experience to show how ordinary Catholics can effectively share their faith, and so fulfill the New Evangelization.  Every one of us, as Catholics, is called not only to keep the faith, but also to share it with others. This talk will help Catholic laymen to reach friends, co-workers, and family members, especially those who are non-practicing or have drifted away from the Church. He will also address the question, why and how can we remain faithful Catholics -- in the face of clerical corruption and the scandals we have witnessed? 
  
In his second talk, Dr. Hahn will speak on how to strengthen our marriages and our family life, both of which are in crisis.  Drawing from Scripture, and forty years of experience as a husband and a father.  Scott will offer some practical tips on how to make your home a domestic church --which St. Pope John Paul II advocated-- particularly with the help of the Holy Family.  He will also share some valuable lessons learned from his own struggles, drawing from his most recent book, The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order

Dr. Scott Hahn
           Dr. Scott Hahn is Professor of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990.  He is the Founder and President of the St. Paul Center, an apostolate dedicated to teaching Catholics how to read Scripture from the heart of the Church.  Scott has been married to Kimberly for forty years, and together they have six children and eighteen grandchildren. Two of their sons are seminarians studying for the Steubenville Diocese.  A former Presbyterian pastor, Scott entered the Catholic Church in 1986. The author or editor of over forty popular and academic books, including “Rome Sweet Home” and “The Lamb’s Supper”, Dr. Hahn has delivered thousands of talks, nationally and internationally, on a variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith.  
Bishop Monforton will preside at the Mass and give the homily.  Confession with a Penance Service is also offered and you are asked to be one of the confessors.  A bag lunch will be served.  This is a hard sell for many men, but the Lord will help us.  If we can mobilize an average of 10 men from every parish in the diocese, this event would be a smashing success!
 
          The Ideal. We have found that when the pastor enthusiastically backs the Men’s Conference, participation of the men significantly increases.  The ideal is for the pastor to accompany his men.  This is a great opportunity to become closer to the men and know them better.  This helps parish solidarity as the men also get to know each other better.  For those in the southern end of the diocese, the distance might be great, but that makes the Conference a Lenten sacrifice and gives it a pilgrimage flavor with enjoyable fellowship, discussion about points brought out, and prayer such as the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet if they travel together in a van or two.

          For example, Fr. Walter Heinz, pastor emeritus of Sacred Heart Pomeroy was an imposing figure.  According to one of the men of the parish, he simply told the guys: “It’s all paid for and we’re going”.  They did.  It was hard to tell him, no.  He heard confessions while there and returned in time for his Saturday evening Mass.

Another option is to stay at a motel in Marietta and make a retreat out of it.  As you know,the Basilica is one of the most beautiful churches in the world and is ideal for prayer and reflection.   There will be Eucharistic Adoration all day Friday until 7 pm in the Chapel of the English Martyrs to the right of the main altar.  Stations of the Cross will follow.  The men may bring their families to stay overnight at a motel and explore Marietta during the Conference.  Go to https://mariettaohio.org/
  
We cannot expect the already busy and overworked pastor to constantly promote the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal.  We are grateful that many promote the Conference as bulletin blurbs, the brochure as a bulletin insert, including a prayer for its success in the Offertory Petitions at daily and Sunday Mass, give plugs from the pulpit after Sunday Mass, etc.  The pastor cannot do it alone; he needs the help of the laity.  However there is much the pastor can do with little effort on his part.

Useful Resources. You and the parish representatives that you appoint can utilize our Conference Blog at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com.  The 2020 series of resources begins with Blog #184) A General Overview of the 2020 Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal; and #185) Form to Place an Ad in the Program Booklet; and followed by:

#186) Diocesan Press Release #1: Scott Hahn  to Speak at Men’s Day of Renewal;
#186) Diocesan Press Release #1: Scott Hahn  to Speak at Men’s Day of Renewal;
#187 Possible Short Announcements For the Church Bulletin; 
#188) Promotion Ideas; 
#189) Functions & Crucial Importance of the Parish Rep; 
#190) Sample Sign Up Sheet; 
#191) Sample Bulletin Insert & Facebook Entry;
#192) Diocesan Press Release #2: Urgently Needed: A Few Good Men to Promote the Men's Conference; 
#193) Backing of the Pastor Crucial to the Men's Conference; 
#194) Role of the Deacon in Promoting the Men's Conference; 
#195) Example of an After Mass Promotional Talk By a Layman; 
#196) Examples of Possible Pastor Announcements Supporting the Men's Conference; 
#197) Diocesan Press Release #3: Men Asked to Make a Lenten Sacrifice to Attend the Men's Conference;
#198) Mobilization of the Knights of Columbus Councils to Attend & Help Promote the Men’s Conference; 
#199) Invitation to Parishes in West Virginia to Attend the Men's Conference; 
#200) Invitation to College Students to Attend the Men's Conference;
#201) Press Release to Catholic Newspapers; 
#202) Press Release to Secular Newspapers; and
#203) My Ad in the 2020 Program Booklet;  Numbers 184 – 203 will be added in the next several days.  They correspond to numbers 160- 179 of  2019 which are similar in principle to this year.

The following link gives a good overview of the Men’s Conference:
(244) Scott Hahn to Speak on How to Participate in the New Evangelization and Building the Domestic Church at the 2020 Steubenville Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal https://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2020/02/244-scott-hahn-to-speak-on-how-to.html.

The diocesan website at www.diosteub.org will have a link to the brochure and Additional Information (for now it has the Register article and photos of last year’s conference).  Hover over the “ABOUT” Menu at the top of home page.  Then hover on “Men’s Ministry” and click on “Men’s Day of Renewal”.  More direct is https://diosteub.org/mens-day-of-renewal.  You should have received at the beginning of February a poster and a packet of brochures for each of your parishes.  If not, please inform me.
    
For your convenience and possible use you will find attached: 1) Conference Brochure with Registration Form; 2) Sample Bulletin Announcements; 3) Sample Bulletin Insert; 4) Functions of the Parish Representative; 5) Promotion Ideas; and 6) Sample Sign Up Sheet to put in back of the church; 7) Example of an After Mass Talk By a Layman; 8) Possible Pastor Announcements; 9) A List of My Articles by Subject and Link (Includes a section on Men’s Conferences).

There are also interesting articles on men’s spirituality at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com, along with summaries of past talks, promotional resources, and other information.  After the Conference and throughout the year, articles will be added to help the men keep in good spiritual shape.  Clergy, Religious, and knowledgeable layman are invited to submit to me for the Conference Blog articles or copies of homilies that are particularly appropriate for men’s spirituality.  For a greater variety, go to “A Little Bit for God and His People” at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.
    
Many if not most men will hardly notice the brochure in the back of the church, poster, bulletin blurbs, etc. although they are indeed important and helpful.  What they can’t miss is the one-on-one personal selling by their peers, i.e., talking it up.  The most effective form of advertising or promotion is word of mouth.  Most important is the witness of men who have gone to a previous Conference.  What is needed is a little “arm twisting” figuratively.  And of course there’s Facebook, Twitter, texting, and the old fashioned phone calling.

The Parish Representative is most important……PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOUR PARISH HAS ONE WHO IS ENTHUSIASTIC and has a certain apostolic zeal.  As in any organization, the executive must delegate as much as possible.  The key is to ask one or two good men to be parish representatives.  If one of them is a member of the Knights of Columbus, he would have access to the local council.  The main job of the parish rep is to promote the Conference, mainly by one-on-one personal selling, register the men, and organize them to go together in the parish van, car or van pool, or bus.  He also helps the pastor to utilize the resources mentioned in the previous paragraph as submitting blurbs and an insert for the Sunday bulletin.  The parish rep can try to talk to each man in the parish before and after Mass or Stations of the Cross or other devotions, during fish fries, at parish or Knights of Columbus meetings, and other activities.  Please send the names, e-mail address, and phone number of the chosen parish representative(s) to both “Don Coen - Chair Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal” donandmargcoen@yahoo.com and to me at paulrsebastian@yahoo.com.

The deacon may be the parish representative as in the case of St. Paul’s and Christ the King in Athens.  Or the deacon may supervise the promotional efforts of two or three laymen.

The men may register individually or the parish representative may collect the registration forms with payment and send them to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715 (e-mail: huck4816@roadrunner.com).  This would save considerable time waiting at the door on the morning of the Conference.  Checks for the Registration cost of $25.00 per person are to be made payable to the Diocese of Steubenville with “Men's Day of Renewal” written on the memo line of the check.   If any man would like to attend, but can’t afford it, the parish can help or contact me at the door.

NEW:  The men are encouraged to bring their sons and thus make this day in part a father and son event.  For the first time boys 18 and under will be admitted free of charge.  The goal is to instill in the young men the habit of Lenten sacrifice, spiritual growth, and preparation for the great feast of Easter.   Hopefully, the older boys will help their fathers to build the domestic church at home and lead their younger siblings in a domestic evangelization.   

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